Vikings 'Ponder' passing problems vs. Lions

(Sports Network) - Two teams moving in opposite directions will meet in an NFC
North matchup at Mall of America Field on Sunday when the struggling Minnesota
Vikings play host to the resurgent Detroit Lions.

The Vikings have hit the skids thanks in large part to the deficiencies of
their second-year quarterback Christian Ponder. In this pass happy era of NFL
football Ponder has been egregiously bad for about a month now, failing to
throw for even 100 yards on three different occasions.

He hit rock bottom in Seattle last Sunday during Minnesota's 30-20 setback to
the Seahawks, throwing for just 63 yards, the second time in three weeks the
moribund Vikings' passing game has offered little production despite a a
rushing game which generated 243 yards, 182 of them from the best running back
in football, Adrian Peterson.

"We are struggling in a lot of areas right now," said Minnesota head coach
Leslie Frazier. "We were not able to capitalize on Adrian's day and that's
difficult to swallow. We need to have more balance."

Balance wasn't a problem for Detroit in Jacksonville last weekend when the
Lions used a stifling defense combined with a career day from running back
Mikel Leshoure en route to a 31-14 win over the Jaguars.

Leshoure found the end zone three times in the second quarter and finished the
contest with 70 yards on 16 carries while the Detroit defense limited
Jacksonville to just one first down in the first half and two touchdowns in
the fourth quarter.

Matthew Stafford went 22-for-33 with 285 yards, Calvin Johnson had seven
catches for 129 yards while Joique Bell added 13 carries for 73 yards and a
score for the Lions, who have won their past two games to get back to .500 on
the season.

"The most important thing is that we won the game," said Detroit head coach
Jim Schwartz. "Any time you can come away with a road game is huge for a team.
I thought we executed really well and we adjusted to what they were doing. I'm
really proud of the offensive line and our running game today."

Minnesota has dominated the Lions for most of this series, compiling a gaudy
67-33-2 mark against them, including a 20-13 win in the Motor City back on
Sept. 30 when Percy Harvin returned a kickoff for 105 yards and a touchdown
and Marcus Sherels added a 77-yard punt return score.

Ponder, however, was just 16-of-26 for 111 yards in that one.

"We have struggled in the passing game," Frazier added. "We've struggled for a
couple of games here now. We know that in order for us to achieve our goals as
a team, we've got to create some balance on offense and take advantage of our
ability to run the football as well as we can."

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Ponder's early returns were promising in 2012 as Minnesota got off to an
impressive 4-1 start, but the wheels have come off over the last month.

It was the Washington Redskins who exposed Ponder on Oct. 14 with the overload
blitz. Harassed and hurried, the Florida State product has looked like a
rookie again ever since, failing to recognize things pre-snap and undergoing a
complete breakdown in mechanics.

Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave began losing confidence in Ponder
and the second-year starter has thrown all eight of his interceptions in the
last five games. Overall, the Vikings have 12 turnovers in those five contests
and almost all of them are directly related to Ponder, who has been making
extremely poor decisions, particularly when he's out of the pocket trying to
extend plays. Ponder is athletic, but those aforementioned mechanics fall
apart when he's on the move, causing his ball to sail.

"I think, for me, it's going back to technique, working on my footwork and
working on my reads and everything," Ponder said. "One thing I need to
continue is to keep stepping up in the pocket and not flushing left or right,
but keep moving forward."

The problem is Ponder has been saying that for weeks now. He recognizes the
issues but sliding in the pocket or stepping up while displaying at least
passable fundamentals is an innate ability which can't be taught. When the
bullets start flying, Ponder regresses to what's natural to him, and his
default settings are just not conducive to solid quarterback play at the NFL
level.

Ponder apologists point to a lack of separation from Minnesota's pedestrian
wide receiver group, but the "All-22" coaches film tells a different story.
Time and time again, the opposition is sticking eight or even nine in the box
to stop Peterson and Ponder has been unable or unwilling to take advantage of
play-action. He simply doesn't have the confidence to grip it and rip it.

To his credit, Ponder refused to follow the Vikings' talking points designed
to protect him.

"We've got good receivers, we've got good blocking up front. I've just got to
do a better job to get the ball in their hands," Ponder said. "This team isn't
one-dimensional. This offense isn't one-dimensional. We've shown that the past
couple games, but we can throw the ball. We're going to figure it out and
we're going to win in the air."

Things will be even tougher for Ponder this week since Harvin is in jeopardy
of missing Sunday's game after severely spraining his ankle in Seattle.

Harvin hurt himself on a rushing attempt late in the third quarter but
finished the contest although he was clearly hobbling throughout. The standout
playmaker entered the Vikings' facility on crutches on Monday and told
reporters the ankle was sprained in three different places. An MRI taken
Monday confirmed a significant sprain, though Harvin did not sustain any
fractures.

"I'm in a lot of pain," Harvin said. "There's a lot of swelling as of right
now. My whole ankle, all the way around is swollen. So we've got a lot to work
to do. It's a longshot (to play Sunday). But I'm not ruling myself out."

For the Lions, Stafford figures to eat up a Minnesota secondary without
injured cornerback Chris Cook, especially if he gets any production from
Leshoure in the backfield.

Leshoure ran for just 26 yards on 13 carries the first time these two teams
met bit the Vikings defense has allowed a 100-yard rushing effort in four of
their five games since.

"Defensively, our run defense doesn't resemble the type of run defense we're
capable of playing," Frazier said. "We have to go back to the drawing board
and come up with some ways to defend the run better than we're doing."

Any semblance of a running game should open up play action for the strong-
armed Stafford.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Just as Ponder has fallen apart in recent weeks Stafford has heated up,
reaching 10,000 career passing yards during a win over the Jags last Sunday.
Stafford reached the mark in just 37 games, the second fastest in history to
Kurt Warner, who did it in 36.

That trend figures to continue in this one.

"I think that whether it's the first game of the year or the ninth game of the
year, whatever it is, when you're playing a division opponent it becomes more
important because a win for you also puts a loss on them," Schwartz said. "The
way (the Vikings) started the season, they put themselves in the picture. We
can't worry about that. We need to worry about just this game."